


A Cleric's Quandary

by Postal_Ninja



Category: Octopath Traveler (Video Game)
Genre: Embarrassment, Gen, Humor, Implied/Referenced Sex, Oblivious Cyrus Albright, Poor Ophilia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:01:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26920333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Postal_Ninja/pseuds/Postal_Ninja
Summary: During a stay at the Victor's Hollow inn, Ophilia finds herself unable to sleep. She decides to quiet her mind with a bit of reading in the common room, but unfortunately gets more than she bargained for.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	A Cleric's Quandary

After turning over in bed for what must have been the twentieth time, Ophilia opened her eyes with a sigh. It seemed insomnia was with her tonight. Rising quietly from bed, she tip-toed her way to the door, careful not to wake the others as she left their shared room.

As she entered the inn's common room, she was perhaps not as surprised as she should have been to see Cyrus seated by himself with his nose in a book. The hour was late, but the professor would often consider sleep as a suggestion rather than a necessity if it could afford him the time to delve into his research.

He did not notice her arrival until she quietly greeted him as she sat nearby. "Hmm? Oh, hello Ophilia," he replied absently. "I thought you had long since found your bed."

"I did," she told him, "but I'm afraid sleep eludes me tonight."

"Mmm..." was the scholar's only response as the tome on his lap tempted his gaze away from her.

Ophilia smiled, amused at his obvious preoccupation. Very well, she thought, she would leave him to his study.

She briefly considered going out for a walk to clear her head and tire her body, but it was a cold, rainy night, and she could hear the wind howling fiercely through the window casement. Not a pleasant night to be outside, she concluded. Besides, where would she go? There was a small chapel at the edge of town, but it also served as an orphanage, and she didn't want to disturb the children at this time of night.

She let her gaze wander around the common room, and spotted a young couple she had not noticed at first. They sat by the fire, hands clasped tightly and heads close as they whispered to one another, wide smiles on their faces. _Ah, young love,_ Ophilia thought warmly as she covertly observed them. The young man's eyes shone with affection as he lifted his arm to wrap it around the young woman's shoulders. She snuggled against him with a giggle, and Ophilia could not help but smile. The two of them were positively adorable.

Turning her gaze away from them, Ophilia reached into her pouch and pulled out her prayer book. Perhaps she could follow Cyrus' example and study passages of scripture until sleep called to her. She turned the small tome to her previously bookmarked page, and began reading.

She had only read two pages at most when a strange sound caught her attention. Curious, she raised her head and looked around until she found the source of the noise. Her eyes widened as she beheld the couple she had been watching earlier. The young woman had climbed into her suitor's lap and they were kissing quite heatedly. The sound of their mouths coming together was clearly audible, despite the fact that Ophilia was sitting on the other side of the room.

The cleric felt herself blushing at the display as her eyes hurriedly returned to her book, rather flustered at having witnessed such a private moment between strangers. Quite frankly, she was a bit shocked that the two of them were carrying on so brazenly in a public setting. Granted, she and Cyrus were the only other people in the room, but that was beside the point! She gazed up at the scholar curiously, but he seemed unaware that anything was out of the ordinary.

Focusing herself on her reading once more, Ophilia tried to push the young lovers out of her mind. She found this difficult, as she could still hear them. The sound of their kissing was interspersed with the occasional giggle and, mortifyingly, a soft moan or two.

Her cheeks burning, Ophilia shifted in her seat uncomfortably, noisily clearing her throat. She kept her face down towards her lap, but noticed a sudden hush from the other side of the room. It seemed she had successfully made her point.

Without raising her head, she stealthily turned her gaze towards the two sweethearts, and noted that they were now rising from their seat. Hand in hand, they hurriedly made their way towards her. Ophilia's eyes shot back to her prayer book, as she did not want to be caught spying. She hoped that the two were not cross with her for interrupting them. She needn't have worried, as they walked past her, still giggling, and entered the room next to the one that she and the other travelers were sharing.

Once the door was shut behind them, Ophilia breathed a sigh of relief. What an awkward situation that had been! She did not begrudge the young lovers their affection, but was grateful that they had sought out a more private location to express it. Willing herself to forget her embarrassment, she turned back to her scripture.

A few minutes later, however, she found herself distracted once more, by a curious rhythmic squeaking. Frowning, she lifted her eyes again, and as she listened, she could tell that the sound was coming from the young couple's room. The noise was soon accompanied by low moaning, and Ophilia's eyes opened wide with shock as she realized what she was hearing. _Oh dear,_ she thought as she felt her stomach sink.

In a panic, she once again turned her gaze towards Cyrus, but still, the professor seemed oblivious to what was going on around him. She did not want to draw his attention to it per se, but at least if he had also noticed it, she would have had someone to express her consternation to. She would not interrupt him to point it out - that would have been even more embarrassing. Not knowing what else to do, she turned back to her book and made a renewed effort to focus on the prayers she was reading.

The lovers seemed quite intent, however, as the squeaking soon became both louder and faster, and Ophilia could not manage to ignore the feminine moans that continued to be heard through the wall. The cleric's cheeks were burning, and her stomach was twisting into knots. She wrung her hands, wondering how she could escape the situation. Going back to bed would do her no good, as she would still be sharing a wall with the source of her discomfort. She turned towards the window, wondering if the weather had cleared up, only to see a lightning bolt flash through the sky and the rain continue to bead against the glass.

Clutching her book of scripture in her hands, Ophilia began reciting prayers under her breath. She startled, then tightly shut her eyes when the steady squeaking turned into a repetitive knocking against the wall; evidently the young couple's amorous activities were vehement enough to move even the heavy beds that this inn housed.

 _Knock, knock, knock, knock,_ it sounded, faster now than before. The moans she was hearing turned to high-pitched cries, and Ophilia slammed her hands over her ears, sending her prayer book tumbling to the floor. This, apparently, was finally enough to draw Cyrus' attention away from his studies. He looked up and locked eyes with her, his head tilted in curiosity.

"Ophilia, my dear, is something amiss?" he innocently asked.

Ophilia was mortified. Her entire face was burning, and her nerves were frayed. How could he _not_ realize what was making her so uncomfortable?

"Well..." she began hesitantly, "it's only..." She cringed visibly as another loud cry of passion sounded through the wall.

Cyrus only regarded her with a confused expression. "Go on," he encouraged.

Ophilia would have rather died than be there in that moment having that particular conversation. She whimpered as the young woman, who was apparently enjoying herself immensely, let out another full-throated cry which echoed throughout the common room.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Ophilia finally uttered, "By the Gods, Cyrus, how can you concentrate with - with... _that_ going on??"

Cyrus tilted his head again, then seemed to understand what she meant. "Ah! You're referring to the female copulatory vocalizations, I take it." He chuckled good-naturedly, then gestured to his book. "It so happens that I'm researching a most fascinating topic, at the moment. I suppose it's rather consuming my focus. Would you like to hear about it?" he asked eagerly.

Ophilia groaned, and squeezed her eyes shut at hearing the mounting evidence of mounting happening on the other side of the wall. She whimpered in panicked discomfort, and finally stood. Hurrying to the inn's front door, she pulled it open only to let in a fierce blast of wind driven rain.  
  
"Ophilia?" Cyrus inquired. "Do you mean to go out in this weather?" he asked, concern coloring his voice.

"I believe I will," she answered breathily, grabbing her cloak from its peg near the door. "I find myself in need of some air. Goodnight, Professor," she hastily answered as she made her way out into the night.

As the rain pelted her and lighting flashed above, Ophilia breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Clutching her cloak closed at her throat, she pushed her way forward in the direction of the chapel. Hopefully the matron of the orphanage would allow her to come in and spend some time in quiet contemplation. Aelfric knew she needed it.

**Author's Note:**

> Not gonna lie, I 100% wrote this as an excuse to have Cyrus say "female copulatory vocalizations" with a straight face. I hope you found the idea as humorous as I did! ;)


End file.
